U.S. Department of Agriculture Offers Nationwide Waiver for Infant Formula

By SÍLE MOLONEY

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is offering nationwide waivers to increase access to infant formula for families in need as states receive and distribute imported infant formula made available by the Biden-Harris Administration’s Operation Fly Formula, the White House announced on Tuesday, June 6. USDA is leveraging new authority from the recently passed “Access to Baby Formula Act” to offer this flexibility. Stacy Dean is USDA’s deputy undersecretary for food, nutrition, and consumer services, and said, “USDA is committed to providing our WIC families with nutritious foods, and while we continue working with our many partners to bring

By EMILY SAWAKED

The following is an extended version of the story that appears in our latest print edition. The Northwest Bronx Community & Clergy Coalition (NWBCCC) hosted a candidates’ forum at Monroe College on Wednesday, May 26, for candidates running in the 78th and the 81st Assembly Districts in the upcoming June Democratic primaries. Both Assemblyman José Rivera (A.D. 78), who was not present on the night, was re-elected to his seat in 2000, having previously served in the Assembly from 1982 to 1987 and who won in 2020 with over 86 percent of the vote, and Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz (A.D. 81),

A host of local businesses joined several, local non-profits for an event aimed at promoting good health, while also supporting businesses and shops in the 78th Assembly District. The Bedford Park event, which was organized by Assemblyman José Rivera (A.D. 78), District 15 City Councilman Oswald Feliz and others, took place before the launch of National Small Business Week, which kicked off on May 2. Several local businesses on the block participated in the fair, with maCny others invited to set-up tables as well. Sherese Morris, a representative for Rivera, said of the event, which was held on Saturday,

By By DR. MICHELLE COLLINS-OGLE

During the month of June, the LGBTQIA community celebrates across the world with various events, to recognize the many positive ways LGBTQIA people have contributed significantly to every country and every community. June is chosen as Pride month in memory of the Stonewall Riots which happened in 1969. Patrons and supporters of the Stonewall Inn in New York City staged an uprising to resist the police harassment and persecution to which LGBTQ Americans were commonly subjected. This uprising marked the beginning of a movement to outlaw discriminatory laws and practices against LGBTQ Americans. The Children’s Hospital at Montefiore has

By EMILY SAWAKED

Preschool aged children with special needs at the New York Institute for Special Education’s readiness program were busy putting on their helmets ahead of a three-lap ride around their school on Tuesday morning, May 24, and it was all in aid of cancer research. Bikes and tricycles of various sizes and functionalities were lined up along the walls ahead of the event, with aides, physical therapists, and occupational therapists assisting the kids mount their respective “wheels.” A red ribbon held high in the air by Deborah Korn, one of the readiness program’s occupational therapists, signaled the end of

By SÍLE MOLONEY

NYC Department of Health & Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) confirmed on Wednesday, June 1, that two people have now died from Legionnaires’ disease and the number of cases has increased to 24 since May 3. Health officials said four people are currently hospitalized. The latest figures were shared as part of an update into the investigation into a community cluster of the disease identified in the Highbridge and Melrose sections of The Bronx (ZIP codes 10452 and 10456) and bordering communities, as announced by the department and reported on Saturday, May 21, by Norwood News. “The remediation ordered by the

By JOSÉ A. GIRALT

Current television commercials touting medications to manage HIV diagnoses are a sign of how far treatments have come since the early days of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s. At that time, this reporter remembers seeing throngs of commuters walking through Grand Central Terminal, wearing surgical face masks, as a self-prescribed [yet unfounded] scientific protective measure against contracting the AIDS virus. In fact, then-Mayor Ed Koch even made public announcements, explaining that the virus was not airborne and that masks were unnecessary. However, it took decades of public awareness campaigns to educate the public about AIDS, along with decades

By SÍLE MOLONEY & JULIAN NAZAR

The following is an updated version of the story that appears in our latest print edition. Bronx Week 2022 kicked off informally on Monday, May 2, at the Northeast Bronx YMCA as its sponsors, supporters and organizers gathered to give the media a taste of what was to come, following a two-year hiatus from large-scale physical gatherings, celebrating the annual festival. Hosted by the Bronx Tourism Council, the Office of the Bronx Borough President, and the Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation, the 10-day festival was packed with several events relevant to every sector of the community, including senior

By SÍLE MOLONEY

New York City Department of Parks & Recreation has allayed fears that a section of Williamsbridge Oval park in Norwood may have been cordoned off to curtail the potential spread of Legionnaires’ disease, following an announcement on Saturday, May 21, by the Bronx Borough President that the City’s health department were investigating a now confirmed cluster of the illness that had been identified in the Highbridge and Melrose sections of the borough. Legionnaires’ disease is a form of pneumonia. “Four people have been diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease since May 9, 2022, and results for other individuals are pending,” Gibson

Norwood News

Serving Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights

Health

U.S. Department of Agriculture Offers Nationwide Waiver for Infant Formula

Elections 2022: Candidates Face Off at NWBCCC Forum Ahead of June Primary Assembly Elections

Bedford Park Health Fair & Small Business Event Held

Health Check: Gender-Affirming Care for Pediatric and Adolescent Youth, Pride in Our Kids

New York Institute for Special Education Students Pedal for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

NYC DOH: Legionnaires’ Disease Spreads in The Bronx with 2 Dead amid 24 Cases

National Transgender HIV Testing Day Raises Awareness About Worrisome Trends

Bronx BP Heralds Success of Bronx Week 2022 Despite Turbulent Beginning to Year for the Borough

UPDATE Parks Dept: Cordoned Off Section of Williamsbridge Oval Unrelated to Legionnaires’ Cluster